


Waltz of the Flowers

by Eida



Category: She-Ra: Princess Of Power
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-18
Updated: 2014-12-18
Packaged: 2018-03-02 00:36:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2793368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eida/pseuds/Eida
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A quiet interlude in the Whispering Woods, where a new relationship begins to bloom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waltz of the Flowers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fairy_Flies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fairy_Flies/gifts).



When you grew up within an ever-buzzing Hive of Bee-People, solitude was a rare thing, to be either feared or--for a significant minority--savored.

Sweet Bee tended towards the latter, at least in controlled doses. It was this quality that had made her so well-suited for scout duty. 

She sought it out again, today, on a whim. Her people's search for a new home had come to a close--but now they had to defend their new world by means that were once unknown to the peaceful Bee-People. 

She found herself missing the days when the Hive-ship had wandered the stars, and she--and other scouts--had hunted for a suitable planet to settle on. There'd been no weapons, then; no conquerors; no seemingly-endless waves of enemies.

At least there was the occasional lull in the struggle. Today was a fairly peaceful day. No new threats had appeared in the past two weeks, though as always, rumors flew about what the Horde might be up to now.

She knew better than to hope that this temporary peace meant that Hordak and his people had given up. His cruelty and drive to conquer was utterly alien to her; the Bee-People were a peaceful people. Even now, the art of combat felt unnatural to her, though when necessary she fought as best as she could.

Sweet Bee fluttered above the treetops of the Whispering Woods. Spring was at its height; the sweet scent of flowers drifted on the air. The existence of seasons still felt like a novelty sometimes to a person who'd spent the bulk of her life on a climate-controlled spaceship.

But from what she knew of seasons--or at least, of the seasons found on most life-bearing planets of this size and orbit--spring was Sweet Bee's favorite. It was a time for new life, and new beginnings. It was a time for flowers, and their promise of future fruit--or, more suitably for a Bee-Person, future honey.

As she passed over a break in the trees, she spotted a patch of bright colors beneath her.

Well, she had nothing else to do--why not pause for a short time, and partake of the most wonderful part of spring?

She descended, landing gently to one side of the patch.

Quickly, she realized that she wasn't alone.

Sitting in the shade of a nearby tree, a pink-gowned woman with long, blonde hair hummed quietly, waving her hand over the ground in front of her.

A sprout poked out of the ground, rapidly growing in size until it bloomed into a white, many-petalled flower. The woman smiled, and looked over at Sweet Bee.

"Hello!" she said. She sounded so genuinely cheerful, Sweet Bee couldn't help but feel happier herself.

"Hello, Perfuma," Sweet Bee replied. She'd only met the blonde woman a few times before, and only briefly. "I'm not disturbing you, am I?"

"Not at all," said Perfuma, beaming. "What do you think?" she asked, gesturing at the flower she'd just grown.

Sweet Bee walked over, bending over to take a look. She noticed that the petals were actually a rosy shade of pink at the base, fading to white a quarter of the way up. The flower smelled absolutely divine, as well.

"It's beautiful," said Sweet Bee, reaching out to gently run a finger over one of the petals.

"I'm so glad you like it!" Perfuma replied. "I just love coming up with new varieties of flowers--I've been working on this one for a while, now, and I think it's ready to add to my garden at the Laughing Swan Inn. There's a little corner I've been waiting to fill... I'm not quite sure what to call this particular variety, but I'm sure I'll think of something." She paused a moment. "Your Bee-people--did you have gardens, up in your ship? I know how much the ordinary bees here love flowers."

Sweet Bee nodded. "Oh, yes. We have hydroponic gardens on the Hive-ship--we've bred strains to produce lots of nectar, and we extract that to make honey. The gardens are so beautiful--I used to like to spend time there, when I wasn't out on scouting missions."

"Hydroponic? I've never heard of such a thing... I assume it has something to do with water, of course." Perfuma's eyes sparkled. "But then, most gardens do!" She laughed, lightly.

"We grow the plants in a liquid nutrient solution," Sweet Bee explained. "Now that we have a planet to call home, some of the others are discussing getting rid of some, or all of the hydroponics. They were useful on a spaceship, since we didn't have access to good soil for planting, but here..." She gestured at the ground. "We could have normal gardens again."

"Would you like those better?" Perfuma asked, sounding oddly serious.

"I... don't want to get rid of the old ones," said Sweet Bee, running a finger over the edges of the white flower's petals. "Maybe it's silly of me, but I think I'd miss them terribly. It doesn't seem right to throw them away, when they helped us so much in our travels."

Perfuma placed her hand over Sweet Bee's, sending a strange thrill up Sweet Bee's arm. "I don't think it's silly at all." Sweet Bee felt her cheeks flushing, slightly, though she wasn't sure why.

She gave Perfuma a small smile. "Thanks," she said. "Even though we've been searching for a home for a long time, it still feels strange now that we've actually found one. So much has changed... and we've had to change, too. We're not used to fighting. But we don't really have a choice." She sighed.

"Well, there are plenty of ways to tweak old Hordie-kin's nose without picking up a weapon," said Perfuma, her voice back to its usual jollity.

"Hordie-kin? You don't mean..." Well, obviously she did mean Hordak. Who else?

Perfuma laughed. "Oh, yes. Did anyone ever tell you about the time he captured me? He put me in a horribly dark, damp, musty cell." She smiled, wryly. "Oh, but it didn't stay that way for long. By the time we parted ways, I'd decorated his lair in the finest floral fashion."

"I think I've heard a little about it--that you got him to release you, just so he wouldn't have to deal with you any longer?"

"And give the Rebellion a few months' worth of supplies, in the bargain! Oh, I almost wanted to turn him down, I was having such fun! His robots are decent dance partners, once you teach them the steps."

"...dance?" Sweet Bee managed, after the profoundly odd mental image swirled through her head for a few moments.

A fey look came into Perfuma's eyes. "Why, how kind of you to ask!" The flower maiden sprang to her feet, offering Sweet Bee her hand. "I'd be thrilled to show you, too!"

Sweet Bee blinked, then took the offered hand, because what else did you do when someone held their hand out to you?

"Now, this is a fairly simple waltz... and one-two-three, one-two-three..."

Perfuma was right--it didn't take too long to get the hang of things. The flower maiden led Sweet Bee on a waltz through the wildflowers, and Sweet Bee couldn't help but laugh--partially from the strangeness of the situation, and partly from sheer joy.

Perfuma seemed to exude joy from her whole being--Sweet Bee wondered if there were anything that could dampen such a bright spirit. No wonder she hadn't been daunted by imprisonment in Hordak's dungeons.

"...and there." The dance finally came to a stop, and Perfuma nodded. "I'd say you're a much better dancer than Hordak's minions. Prettier, too."

Sweet Bee blushed. "Thank you."

"Oh, don't mention it," said Perfuma, waving dismissively. "You looked like you could use some cheering up."

"I do feel a lot cheerier," said Sweet Bee, smiling. "I... would you like to visit the Hive, sometime, and see our gardens? I'm sure one of our technicians would love to tell you all about our hydroponics systems." Part of her wanted to do _something_ to make Perfuma happy, the way Perfuma had just done for her--and another part just wanted to spend more time with the flower maiden.

Perfuma beamed. "That sounds delightful! Perhaps tomorrow? I thought I'd try planting a few of my new beauties in my garden at the inn," she said, gesturing towards the white flower she'd grown shortly before.

"Tomorrow it is, then! I don't want to keep you from your planting..." Sweet Bee began.

"You could come with me," Perfuma suggested. "I'd love to give you a personal tour of my gardens."

"I'd like that very much." Sweet Bee had seen the gardens during a visit to the Laughing Swan Inn, and admired them, but she imagined that Perfuma would be able to tell her far more about her beloved plants than Sweet Bee could observe on her own.

"Well, let's get going!" With a last burst of magic to strengthen the flower she'd just planted, Perfuma set off towards the inn, with Sweet Bee beside her.

This world, Sweet Bee thought, had begun to feel even more like home.


End file.
